Losing the Game
by loverofgaga
Summary: There have been no leads as to where Sasuke is. The three years that Arashi had spoken of have passed and Orochimaru is ready for his new body, but the unveiling of a new country changes everything. There may be pairings in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

This story picks up three years after the manga chapter 237. In the anime that is episode 141. Because the plot has advanced three years, everyone has aged accordingly. The Sand Siblings are 16 to 19 depending on which one you look at.

"This is talking."  
>'<em>This is thinking'<em>

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters or anything else that could possibly be related in any way, shape, or form to the manga/anime. **

Okay, well, here is the story.

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Waking<span>

The handsome, well-built, and bald headed man made a hand gesture toward the younger brown haired man. The brown haired man jumped silently from the ledge on the roof and onto the platform where the queen presided behind her deep purple curtains. The young and beautiful blonde haired girl, who was kneeling at a distance from the queen's platform, was confident in their plans. As the blond haired girl and the bald man knelt for the queen, they watched their brown haired comrade execute his part of the plan flawlessly. As he crept toward the queen's throne, without drawing attention, he pulled out his kunai. The suspense grew as he slowly advanced toward his target. From a distance, the blonde girl and the bald man grew more confident that their ally would be successful. Although they could not see the queen from behind the drapes, they knew their ally was inside of the drapes, about to finish the plan.

No one noticed, but- all the glass in the hall had just cracked. The windows lining the huge expanse of the hall were all distorted know, and the mirrors reflected a thousand worlds. Time slowed down for a moment. The fountains right outside of the queen's lair froze. An earsplitting noise rang out from behind the curtains, where the queen and their comrade were. White spikes, that could easily be ten feet tall, shot out in all directions from behind the drapes; curtains ripped and glass shattered as those pale spears ripped through and around the platform. Blood was strewn across the walls, staining the once spotless gray slabs. The blonde couldn't breathe.

Sweat dripped down her face, as did a tear. A pink haired girl lay, with her eyes wide, staring at her ceiling. _'This is the third time I've had this dream.'_ Sakura sat up in her bed. She was successful in calming herself by looking at the sunrise through her window and breathing deeply. Sakura got out of her bed and walked to her bathroom. She splashed water on her face, trying to keep herself awake, in fear of having the dream again.

"Now shut-up! When Iruka-sensei gets back, he'll know what to do with you all… all of you… _imps._" Naruto tried to keep the maddening academy class quiet and orderly while Iruka was getting supplies for the next experiment.

Konohamaru laughed and pointed at Naruto. "Hey! We're all getting our forehead protectors next week! You can't boss us around for much longer!"

"That's if you all pass- you guys haven't learned anything while I've been with you! Remember, you have to take a test to get it." Naruto was interrupted before he could smirk. Iruka walked in.

"Naruto, you weren't much different from them when you were their age. If you remember correctly, you failed the test- but because of the skill you showed during that little incident, we gave it to you." Iruka plopped the supplies he was carrying in on his desk.

"Iruka-sensei, I'll soon be equal to you, you know, if not already."

"That doesn't matter. I'm still higher than you in one area." He laughed and sarcastically noted to Naruto, "I am really glad you agreed to be my assistant when you accepted your last mission from Tsunada-sama."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Ohh…" He sighed. "Don't remind me. That was the biggest mistake of my life. That old hag tricked me."

Iruka laughed. "Well, you are still my teaching assistant until next week, so," He handed a box to Naruto, "pass these kunai out to the kids."

Naruto reluctantly obliged.

"Now, I want you to focus all of your attention on the pig's left main coronary artery."

Sakura placed her hands a few inches above the sedated pig's wound, trying to do as Tsunada said, but sighed and gave up again.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong with you today. You haven't been able to heal anything all day. If you're in a battle, a trained shinobi is going to aim for your team member's vital areas. I've had to save everything for you today, or else it would have died." Tsunada then quickly healed the pig's heart.

"I'm sorry Tsunada-sama, I just can't focus today." She fell backwards onto a large fluffy chair across the room and relaxed. "I just haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Well, I have herbs that I could teach you how to mix together to make some sleeping drugs." Tsunada placed a few more anesthetic pills into the pig's mouth and walked over to Sakura. She sat on a nearby chair, crossed her legs, and leaned forward to listen to Sakura.

"It's not that." Sakura let her head fall on the back of the chair to relax. "I've been having this weird dream." She sighed. "I always wake up before it advanced farther than a certain point." She sat up, not being able to relax any more, and let her head rest on her hand. "There are these people, three people, and two are distracting this woman, who I think is supposed to be a noble person or something, while the other guy is supposed to assassinate her. The two people who are kneeling before the woman, whom they can't see because there are drapes all around her, are confident that their ally is going to be successful in his assassination attempts. They are confident, but they are all extremely nervous, and I always feel the anxiety that they feel when I have this dream, which almost unbearable. Well, at the height of their confidence, when the guy is about to kill the woman- something happens to the guy… and I always have this feeling, that the girl who is helping distract the woman, is in love with the guy who got hurt. I always end up feeling the same thing she feels. It is so weird." She sighed again.

Tsunada's head was resting on her hand as well. "Well, that sounds really interesting. But- I'm afraid I am just a doctor, not a psychiatrist. I wish I could help you, but I can't."

"I know, I know. I just wish I knew what it meant. Anyways, maybe now that I have let that out, I'll be able to focus more. Let's continue." They both walked back to the pig, which was lying on its side, on a stone slab.

When Iruka dismissed him, Naruto left the academy for lunch with Shikamaru, and then trained. As he walked back to his apartment when the day was ending, he thought about what Arashi had said three years ago in Orochimaru's underground mansion and what Jiraiya said before they left to train. '_When Sasame was unconscious back then, Arashi said that Orochimaru had to protect Sasuke for three years until he could use him as a new container. Sakura only knows about the three years because she was there when Arashi mentioned it. Jiraiya had even said that before Arashi- but she wasn't there for that.' _The blue-eyed boy sighed._ 'It's been three years_.' Naruto kept walking with his hands in his pockets. He was nearing his apartment. '_I'm sure Sakura hasn't forgotten that, but, I'll remind her anyway_.' He turned a corner and walked into his apartment building.

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><p>Well, I would really appreciate it if you gave me some feedback. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. It was rather boring. Although you may have not seen it in this chapter, I try to keep all the characters personalities the same as in the series. I don't like making them ooc and I try to keep them realistic. But- As you already know, this story takes place three years ahead. Because of that time skip the characters may have changed a bit and matured, personality wise. Anyways, I hope to have the next chapter posted shortly. It <span>will<span>be longer than this chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Mission to Start Them All

"Buunshin no Jutsu!" A small child failed at creating a clone.

Iruka whispered to Naruto, "I don't want to hurt their feelings. Some of them can do it, and others… well, they just can't."

"Well, they should know that they've failed." Naruto looked directly at the child and said, "Moegi! You should have trained harder! You have completely screwed up- again! You've failed three times, you can't fail any more."

Iruka saw the miserable look in her face. "Don't worry Moegi…" Trying to think of something to say, "You still have three more tests on different subjects. You only have to pass three out of six of the tests."

She pouted as she scampered off, "Okay."

"Well, that concludes the clone testing. We're going to do a kunai and shuriken accuracy test and then we'll complete one more jutsu test." Iruka formed a line out of the kids and marched them out of the classroom.

Naruto stood up and followed Iruka with a box of kunai. He plopped it on the ground beside the throwing line. Iruka let the kids sprawl themselves out on the ground in a random group. As he stood beside the throwing line his eyes scanned a clipboard. "The first up to attempt this test is… Udon!" Udon walked up to the throwing line, nervously. Iruka spoke softly to the kid, trying to calm him down. "Don't worry Udon, you just have to get two out of four kunai in that circle." Iruka knelt down beside Udon and pointed at a large white circle on a wooden wall. "You've only failed once so, you can fail twice more, but try your best." He patted Udon on the back and handed him two kunai.

With his congested voice he said, "Thanks…" Udon stepped up and threw his kunai one at a time. He missed both. Iruka handed him two more. He threw both at the same time, getting one in the large circle, which was only ten feet away.

"Good try Udon." Iruka patted him on the back once more. "Next is, Matsuri."

She walked to Iruka, who gave her two kunai. She promptly threw both into the circle.

Naruto was impressed, since it was a kid and all. He walked over to Iruka. "She is going to be a successful shinobi. She hasn't failed any, and has even finished faster than all the other kids."

"Yeah, she has always been one step ahead of her classmates. She looks up to TenTen. Matsuri is also a very likable kid to adults. She is really smart and has always seemed a few years more mature than all the kids her age. Anyways- next is Moegi!" He handed two kunai to the girl. "You can do it Moegi. You can't fail any more though. Anyways, I know you are good at the physical things."

She threw both at the same time, getting one in the circle. She was handed two more and made both. "Yay!" She ran back to her spot beside Konohamaru, who was called next. He did the same as Moegi. The rest of the kids took their turns. They all passed the shuriken test, except for Udon. Everyone successfully completed the shuriken test except for Udon again. Everyone completed the last test as well, the Henge no Jutsu test.

As parents came to congratulate their children, Naruto noticed they all had some sort of relative or guardian who was there to support them. Even Konohamaru had gotten a new adult figure in his life since Sandaime. He also thought about how there were really no outcasts like him when he was in the academy. '_I shouldn't be angry or jealous. I'm happy these kids are more fortunate than I was.' _Naruto watched, bitterly, from a distance. With his arms crossed, he walked back into the classroom and waited.

"You've probably seen this before Sakura." Tsunada opened a door and led Sakura into the ICU.

"This was where Neji was taken care of after the battles against the Sound Four."

"Yes." Tsunada then motioned to the floor. "These symbols and designs are an example of what you may one day need to create out in the field for your team members."

Sakura stared at the many circles. "Each of these symbols has a different effect?"

"Yes. I know I have taught you many symbols already, but those were the most basic designs."

"You're going to teach me these symbols?" Sakura looked at the ground with a doubtful look.

"As many as I can until you're off."

"Off for what?"

"I'll tell you as we walk to my office." Tsunada opened the door and walked out with Sakura trailing behind her.

As they walked up stairs and through hallways, Tsunada spoke seriously. "I've just received news on a new mission. I'm assigning you on a team of five for this."

"Five people? Why so many?"

"Well, there are a multitude reasons." They reached the office. Tsunada opened the door and walked to her desk. "Sit down Sakura." Sakura sat down on a seat in front of the large desk. Tsunada spun her chair around so she could look outside of the wide windows and see Sakura at the same time. "Although we do not have the permission from Tsuchikage, you will be going to the Hidden Rock village. You will be doing reconnaissance for information on a country above the northern border of the Earth Country. You must learn where the country is as well as its name and all issues relevant towards the leadership of the country. You shouldn't have any trouble until you get inside the Earth Country. Your team members will be Neji, Shino, Ino, and Naruto."

"I thought Naruto was still Iruka's assistant at the academy."

"He was assigned five weeks ago as an assistant and his work was to end when the genin exam took place, and that happened today." Tsunada spun her chair around so she was facing Sakura completely. She leaned forward, placing her elbows on the desk, and clasped her hands together in front of her chin. "The council and I have not found any approaches towards mission that may be connected to Sasuke since he left. We are not sure if this mission is directly connected to Sasuke or not but-" Tsunada opened a drawer in her desk and pulled a folder out. She handed it to Sakura. "That is information on the Rice Field Country. When Orochimaru became the leader of the Hidden Sound Village, the output of that country doubled. Normally the leader or Kage of a hidden village doesn't have power over the country as a whole, but in Orochimaru's aggressive nature, he did. While Orochimaru doesn't seem to care for the opinions of the citizens, he did care for economic issues, probably so he could hire more mercenary shinobi. As we looked into how the country had become so predominant and after we found that Orochimaru had full control, we learned that he had basically forced his country to work endlessly so there would be more money flowing to him."

Sakura thought for a moment while looking at the document. "I think I know what you're getting at. Basically the country north of the Earth Countries borders has been showing the same signs that the Rice Field Country had shown when Orochimaru took control. You think that Orochimaru may have gained control of another country. And because Sasuke is with Orochimaru now, he might be related to or in this unidentified country."

"Exactly. You will have tomorrow to prepare and on Wednesday you are to leave early at 5:00 in the morning. But- you will be traveling in two groups. Ino, Neji, and Shino will be going farther north through the Waterfall Country and then going west through the eastern border and on toward Iwa. They have a shorter distance to travel than you and Naruto have. You and Naruto will be traveling directly west and into the Rain Country. Once there you will travel north through the Earth borders and onto Iwa. Neji's group may get to Iwa before you, but it may only be half a day's difference. You are to meet each other at the fountain of Iwa every day at noon for as many days as it takes you to get the information you need, on the third day you will meet once more and then, as a group, take the quickest route back to Konoha. I will keep you here and teach a few more advanced designs until I release you at 7:00 the evening. Afterwards, you must tell your teammates what will happen and everything surrounding the mission. You can use those papers to help them understand the mission more clearly."

"Yes Ma'am." Sakura placed the folder inside a small purse-like bag beside Tsunada's desk.

Tsunada stood up and walked to the door. "Remember, this is a B-rank mission and may very well turn into an A-rank mission." She opened the door to the hallway. "Lets go learn some symbols."

Iruka was looking over test results. "Well, everyone did well. It seems this next generation has a variety Naruto."

Naruto shrugged. "I don't really care." He was picking up trash on the floor of the classroom.

"You should. These are the kids who you might be on teams with one day. You may even be a sensei to a team of their kids. Some of these kids are average in everything while others excel at only the physical areas. Udon can hardly do anything physical while Moegi is only good at that."

"I guess you're right, but, I just can't imagine these kids staying in the shinobi field. Except… maybe Matsuri and Konohamaru and a couple others."

Iruka closed the book. "Well, you've matured over the years, physically and mentally, but you're still a little naïve some times." Iruka laughed and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Ahahahahah…ha… very funny."

Naruto's stomach growled after his sarcastic comment. Iruka pulled out his wallet. "Why don't we get some Ichiraku Ramen?"

"I can't disagree with that. You're paying right?" He smiled.

Iruka sighed. "Yeah, sure."

They then left for ramen.

"Wow. This sounds like it's going to be tough." Ino put her hands on her sides and swayed backwards.

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I'm excited but nervous. Anyways, I'm off to tell the others."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you at the front gate on Wednesday morning right?"

Sakura looked back at her best friend as she left the flower shop. "Yep. Well, see-ya Ino."

"Bye!" Ino was waving over dramatically as she left and pretended to wipe away a tear. The two girls laughed.

Sakura continued to walk down the streets of Konoha and passed by Ichiraku Ramen. She saw the black pants that Naruto had started to where lately. '_Well, if he's there, I guess I'll tell him now.'_ She walked into the ramen shop and sat down beside Naruto. "Hi Iruka-sensei, Naruto."

Iruka, who was sitting to the left Naruto, leaned forward to see Sakura past Naruto's head. "Hey Sakura."

"Hi Sakura-chan. Do you want to order something?" He laughed and looked at Iruka. Iruka sighed and looked down at his bowl of ramen in return.

Sakura looked at Ayame. "I would like medium bowl of Karai-Ebi flavor."

"Okay." She turned around and prepared the bowl. "Here you go. Enjoy."

Iruka finished his meal and took out his wallet. "I'm going to get going now Naruto, I'll see both of you later. Good night." He placed enough money to pay for their meals and a tip and left.

The two looked at each other. Naruto was about to say something, but Sakura cut him off. "Naruto, I'm not here to chat. I have something important to tell you."

"I do too Sakura."

"Well, what I'm going to tell you is related to Sasuke." Sakura took swallowed some of her ramen.

Naruto finished his ramen. "Well, I had something to tell you about Sasuke as well." He handed his bowl to Ayame. "Three years ago, when the mansion was collapsing. Arashi had said that Orochimaru had to protect Sasuke for three years before he could be used as his new container."

"Yeah, I remember too. But, a few hours ago, when I was with Tsunada-sama, she told me some great news…" Sakura continued to tell Naruto about the upcoming mission.

By eight in the evening Sakura had visited everyone's homes and told them all about the mission. Once she got home, she lay in her bed, wrapped tightly in her sheets and drifted off into that frightening hall once again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: This is not the Way We Were Told it was going to be

Everyone was there. Naruto, Sakura, Neji, Ino, and Shino.

Sakura looked around. "Well, everyone is here. I assume everyone has everything they need?"

Naruto began to rummage through his bag. "Yep-"

Sakura placed the skin in between her thumb and index finger on her forehead and shook her head. "No- No Naruto. It was a rhetorical question."

"Great, I'm on a team with a girl with PMS right now." The blonde said, under his breath, of course.

"Nani?" Sakura snapped back at him. "What did you just say?"

"Nothing, I just was thinking about what I wonderful time I'm going to have with you on this mission."

Neji closed his white eyes and sighed. "Well, lets get back on track you guys."

The female blonde needed her memory to be refreshed. "So, what are we all doing again?"

Neji answered, "Well, me, you and Shino are going north through the Waterfall Country. Once at the Taki we will head west and sneak across the Earth Countries border and head to Iwa. Once there we will get information on the country to the north that has been acting differently lately."

"Me and Naruto are going west through the Rain Country. Once midway through the Rain Country we are going to head north through the borders of the Earth Country and head to Iwa from there." Sakura added. "Remember, it's closed borders for this mission because Tsunada-sama didn't ask Tsuchikage."

Naruto was growing impatient, but was successful in hiding it. "Okay, well, we all know what we are to do now. We should get going."

"Well," Neji got in his group. "We won't see each other until noon in about two days. Stay safe."

"You too." Naruto replied.

"Tsunada-sama. They'll do fine. You have faith in them? Right?" Shizune asked.

As Tsunada placed her hand on her cheek, she tried to make herself and Shizune feel more at ease. "Yes. Over the years these kids have become exceedingly stronger. They've also matured quite a bit. I have faith in them."

"We've made it this far in this short amount of time?" Ino questioned, in shock.

Shino looked at their surroundings. "Yes, it appears we have already reached the Waterfall Countries borders. At the pace we've been going, we can probably get to Taki before nightfall."

Neji nodded. "We'll stop at Taki once we reach it. The next day we will get to the border of the Earth Country and then we will take it slow once we've gotten past the border."

As they advanced through the Waterfall Countries hillside Shino grew weary. He started jumping closer to Neji so he could get in whispering distance of him. He was close enough now.

He whispered to Neji. "The wheat- as we've been jumping through it, it has moved and swayed with the wind we've created."

"Yes. What does this have to do with anything?" Neji narrowed his eyes and looked at Shino as they jumped.

"Look," Shino looked to the right of Ino. "Every once in a while, the wheat beside Ino moves, as if someone is there. I think someone is following us."

Neji saw the wheat move for a moment. "The next time it happens, I will confront the force."

Shino nodded and returned to his position in the middle of the three.

The wheat moved. Neji promptly threw a kunai at where the wheat moved.

"Wha!-" Ino shouted as she was knocked out.

"Move!" Neji jumped and grabbed Ino while Shino jumped out of the way. An exploding note attached to a needle (senbon) was sticking out of the ground, next to Ino's unconscious body.

Neji threw Ino on the ground beside Shino. Shino nodded as he immediately jumped in front of her (in an attempt to guard her).

A blow was sent at Neji. He blocked it. The white-eyed boy made the appropriate hand seals. "Byakugan!"

'_Pathetic. Two hired mercenaries- and cheap ones at that. Who ever hired them was probably sold on the fact that they could make themselves invisible." _

Two bodies lunged at Neji. As they both flew to the ground, after a hard hit from Neji, they became visible. Ino was just waking up.

She placed her hand on her head as she stood up. "What happened?"

Shino didn't turn around to look at her but answered. "We were attacked. Someone had been following us this whole time."

"Ohh."

Neji had one pinned on the ground- the other was knocked out. "Shino, Ino. Come look at these guys." They walked forward.

Ino furrowed her eyes. "So they attacked me? Well, they aren't from the Earth Country. That's for sure."

Neji had the fool face down in the dirt. He had his hands tied behind his back and he had one foot putting a painful amount of pressure on the man. "Where are you from? Who hired you?"

The man said nothing, but laughed. "A cold woman did. That's all you need to know."

"Why do you say that?" Neji smirked and put more pressure on the man.

He grunted from the pain. "Because you'll be dead in a moment."

Neji's eyes widened as the body disappeared beneath him. The man he presumed to be unconscious was gone as well. Because he still had his Byakugan active he saw four bodies approaching from a nearby forest, two were the men who had just disappeared from beneath him. Two headed for Ino, one for Neji and one to Shino.

Ino knocked two blows away from her. Her enemies became visible.

Shino knocked his enemy to the ground, making him visible. He sent a multitude of destruction bugs at his opponent. They were all burnt to a crisp as the man shouted. "**Katon: Karyu Endan!"** He then did the same to Shino, who barely evaded it.

"Being weak might have just been their mask." Neji shouted as he fought with his opponent. He saw one more enemy come from nowhere. "Ino! Shino! Run!"

The two responded by running the direction Neji ran. They came upon a fishing hut and a concrete dock beside a river. "We're running across!" They reached the dock and ran down its length, their enemies following shortly behind. Neji and Shino were first to jump off the dock and onto the water, a few feet below.

Shino and Neji looked up above them and stopped running over the water. In mid-air as Ino jumped onto the water, blood shot out of her back as two kunai hit her. Instead of landing on the water, she fell through the surface.

"No." Neji said with pain in his voice. He dove under the now reddish water and grabbed Ino.

Shino looked at Neji and the limp Ino in the hyuuga's arms. "We have to go back to Konoha now."

"Yes."

"This is not the way we were told it was going to be." Shino looked up as reflections in the water appeared.

Suddenly the five men were over their heads as the jumped off the dock. "We've got you now!" Shino fell before getting a chance to fight. Neji didn't fall with out a fight; but- his opponents overpowered him after a few intense moments of tai-jutsu fighting.

It all happened as the sun was setting. No one at Konoha had any idea of what had just happened to over half of the team sent to Iwa.

"Sakura-chan, the sun is setting. We should be able to get to Ame before nightfall."

"Yeah." Sakura mused aloud. "I'm sure that the others are probably already at Taki by now."

After jumping through forests for a while, they came to Ame. It was raining and the sun had just set. Although it was cloudy, the moon shone through a few clouds, painting the land in blue. The streets were filled with water. There were few people out.

"Naruto?" The green-eyed girl asked.

"What?"

"I think we could make it to Iwa by early next morning. We could sleep in Iwa till 11:00 or so and still get some information by noon. We would also be there before the others. What do you think?"

Naruto looked at her, he didn't like the idea all that much because it was raining and he would have to stay up late. "Well, if you let me sleep till 11:00 then I guess we could do it."

"Great."

The two jumped out of the city and jumped through the forests of the Rain Country and the fields of the Earth Country. They reached Iwa at 3:00 in the morning, allowing eight hours of sleep and a stealthy entrance to Iwa. Naruto and Sakura got a suitable hotel room together. After drying off they slept separately; (to Naruto's disappointment) Naruto, the couch- Sakura, the bed. The green-eyed girl drifted off into her depressing dream once more.

As a tear met the blondes' cheek; the spikes halted in their assault across the platform. The room was silent. Two guards came in the hall and placed their javelins in front of the blonde girl and the bald man. The bald man seemed just as shocked as the girl. They hadn't expected anything to go wrong. But now… now it was over. They had failed. Their comrade must have been found out. The girls face turned from shock to a mixture anger and misery.

She screamed a furious scream. She pushed through the guard and ran down the hall. She ran for what seemed to be an eternity to her bald comrade. She reached the platform stairs. She raced up them. As she ran towards the queen, ready to avenge her loved one, she formed two clear swords in each hand. As she met the cold queen at the top of the stairs she crossed the swords, about to strike.

"How could you?" She screamed one last angry scream as her swords almost reached her target.

The bald mans heart raced as he held in a gasp. A white light shone for a moment. The two swords hit the ground and shattered. The blonde haired girl flew, in slow motion, through the air. She fell from the air, hitting the middle of the stairs, rolling down their length, and came to a halt at the bottom. Angelic blonde hair cascaded down her face. Her gray eyes were glassy and half-lidded. A pool of blood formed around the lifeless, broken body.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: It Wasn't You?

It had stopped raining. It seemed eight hours of sleep was still not enough to the blonde. Naruto rose with a yawn. Looking around the room he noticed that Sakura was not in bed. He rubbed his eyes groggily and stumbled off the couch. He pulled his hat off and slipped off his shirt as he reached the bathroom. He thought he heard water running from a faucet. The cobalt-eyed teen noticed Sakura as he walked in on her brushing her teeth.

"Ohiyo Naruto." Sakura mumbled through a toothbrush and toothpaste.

In his half-asleep state the blonde accidentally acted upon his normal routine that he carries out at his apartment- but was thoughtful enough to moan out to Sakura before acting. "Hmmm… I'm taking a shower…"

Sakura's eyes flinched as she saw something she never wanted to see- Naruto took his sleep pants off in the mirror and opened the shower curtain. He then closed it, never realizing what unforgivable law he had just broken in his tired state.

Sakura's hand seemed to have a seizure apart from the rest of the body, which turned around calmly. The toothbrush flew across the room. "BAKA NARUTO!"

She slipped her hand in through the shower curtain immediately after the shout, which was shocking enough to cause Naruto to fall down in the shower. The scalding hot water rained upon the jinchuuriki boy.

A cry from their bathroom woke the whole building.

Normally Naruto would have been clumsy, but somehow had managed not to be and he promptly jumped out of the shower. Sakura had already escaped the bathroom before he left the privacy of the shower.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto moaned, guiltily.

Sakura just sat on the edge of her bed, fuming. Naruto moaned some more from the bathroom. "Sakura-chan… I'm sorry! I was still so much asleep!"

Sakura tried to relax. "Ohh. Baka boy! I thought you were just going to brush your teeth or something. Just finish your shower! Afterwards we'll separate to look for information. Remember to meet the others and I at noon! Don't forget!"

Sakura left to scout for information before he finished his shower. Naruto left afterwards.

It was a sunny day in Iwa. The morning air refreshed Naruto. He had no idea where to look for information or who to ask. Sakura, on the other hand, was searching in all the likely places. She disguised herself with Henge and infiltrated a few offices looking for anything that looked alien to the Earth Country. The blonde had the same approach, but wasn't using Henge or looking through office buildings, he was just roaming the streets.

He came upon a shop that was two stories high and had lavishly adorned jewelry as its wares. The way the shop was decorated didn't seem native the Earth Country. It's merchandise seemed foreign, but popular amongst the civilians of Iwa. Naruto didn't recognize the goods as any countries that he had been to on missions; so, he naturally assumed it was from somewhere else. The blonde walked in and received confused looks from all the shoppers and staff.

An employee walked up to Naruto. "May I ask what you want sir?"

Naruto looked up at the man. "I just want to look around for a bit. Thank you." The man was about to leave but Naruto stopped him before he left. "I almost forgot to ask. Where do these jewels come from?"

The man bluntly answered. "I don't know. I just work here."

"Okay. Thanks."

The man then remembered, "But- you can ask Iaru on the second floor behind the counter. He should know."

"Ohh. Thank you very much." Naruto was pleased. The employee walked away. Naruto climbed up the circular stairs to the second floor. He saw the counter that the staff member must have been talking about. There was a man placing merchandise inside the glass container.

The blonde walked toward the man and stood beside the counter.

"Hello. Do you need anything?" The man didn't look away from what he was doing.

"I heard your name was Iaru from another employee downstairs. He said you could tell me where this jewelry came from."

"Ohh. Yes. I would know. I used to live up there." The man looked at Naruto and then back at what he was doing. "What may I ask is your name?" He wasn't very polite, but was becoming a little less awkward to talk to.

"Naruto Uzumaki." The blonde thought for a moment about the mans attitude and then he got back to the point. "What do you mean up there? Is that where that stuff comes from?" Naruto arched his eyebrows questionably.

"Yes. These all come from that country I lived in." Iaru lifted a silver ring up in the air, allowing light to shimmer out of the green stone. "The country I used to live in is known as the Ice Country due to the climate that makes the earth and stone a tundra. It is about a four-day slow walk, with breaks for food and stops to sleep, from the border of the Earth Country to the Ice Country Border. The coast it has to the north is just a frozen bay in the winter, but for a single month each year during the summer, it melts, allowing traffic to come in and out of the small harbor." Iaru was still unloading expensive jewels into the glass display case. He spoke to Naruto, trying to look unsuspicious. The blonde didn't catch his odd actions.

"May I ask you some more questions about the country?"

Iaru narrowed his eyes and said yes, trying to be polite. It was obvious he was becoming annoyed.

"I assume the country isn't associated with shinobi? They don't have their own, so they hire from you guys, the closest ninja village around them."

Iaru looked around the room, as if to make sure no one was there, before speaking again. "You could evenly compare the size of the Ice Country to the size of the Bird Country. The only difference is that, even though the Ice Country is mainly tundra, it has no mountains other than one large crater, allowing for more of it to be populated. The capital, which is also their hidden village, Hyotongakure no sato, is built around and in the large crater that is now a lake. The way the city is laid out is hard to explain, you would have to see it yourself. With its vast amount of natural recourses and a high and dense population, it was perfect for a dictator such as herself to come in and force them to work double the hours and twice as hard. Anyways, are you done asking me questions?"

"I'm sorry. I just have a few more. Bear with me. The country is mostly tundra, so the recourses can't be organic? They're mineral?" The blonde asked, confused. He realized how indirect the man was when answering his questions, which never really got answered.

"Yes. Although it's hard to break through the tundra, they've utilized the abilities of the single clan to the maximum. Those poor people are worked like slaves up there."

Naruto had a shocked expression on his face for just a moment and continued to ask questions. "They have a clan? Do you know if it is a bloodline clan, or have they just mastered a certain jutsu art? And you still haven't answered my question about whether or not they train shinobi in academies? Like in this country."

"Well…" Iaru sighed. "… The country isn't like most of the other countries in that not everyone is allowed to become a shinobi. It used to be like that, but now… Now only people who are completely loyal to that woman can be trained. And don't think these are weak ninja. The highest trained are equal or greater in strength to Jounin from any other country. The country never hired ninja. The Ice Country only allows a fraction of its shinobi out to complete missions at a time. They do that because the remaining shinobi must stay in the country, keeping rebellions down, protecting that woman, and spreading propaganda. Though the majority of the countries populace is against her rule, most of the rebel groups are silenced through bribery or wiped out immediately. There are a few shinobi groups who have kept themselves secret. I don't know the state of the rebel groups now, since I managed to moved out of the country to Iwa after she gained control."

'I have so many questions, but this guy is so indirect.' Naruto thought for a moment. "I'm sorry for asking you so many questions but I am just really interested." Naruto gave a fake laugh. "Who is this woman you have been referring to as if I know her? Can you expand on the clan a bit for me? Please?"

The man sighed again. "It's okay. I don't mind. I just don't like talking about that country." His tone was more gently now. He was more polite and willing to answer. "It's like hell up there. The shinobi are always wandering the streets, making sure no one is blaspheming the queen. Ohh yes. The queen. She is the dictator I was talking about. Her name is Acharia. Although the next in line to take the place of Otaka Nikoto was Otaka Kimshara, Nihoisha Acharia came out of nowhere and became the Daimyou by force- but she promoted herself to queen in an effort to seem more intimidating. She is ruthless. Some say she doesn't have a soul. There were rumors that she was a jinchuuriki whose demon took control, but those were proven false." Iaru finished setting the jewelry out in an elaborate pattern under the glass. He stood up and walked out from behind the counter. "Lets sit down and continue."

They walked over to the windows and sat down in a pit full of fat, black leather couches. They looked at each other from across the pit and continued to talk. Iaru spoke as he watched the passerby's in the street from the second floor window he was sitting beside. "I had said earlier that there was a clan that is basically just used for labor. The clan has a bloodline limit."

Naruto's eyes widened as he became more interested. "What is their bloodline limit?"

Iaru shook his head. "If the country had a decent ruler and strategist, it could make the clan prosper and it could have a great shinobi village. Unfortunately Acharia is only interested in economic gain and the feeling that she has power and control. The clan has deadly accuracy and innate knowledge of all katon jutsu's. I'm sure they have some other clever things hidden up their sleeves, but… that is all I know about the clan. I don't know much about all that ninja stuff anyways. They are worked until they can work no longer by the higher ranking shinobi that are loyal to Acharia. With their expertise in explosive fire jutsu's the clan members can blow away tundra and earth. They can also refine some of the ores and minerals, such as iron and copper with their abilities. That is basically all I know about the country."

Naruto nodded. "Thank you so much. You don't know how much I appreciate your patience."

Iaru smiled. "It was a pleasure. Remember to come back when you are looking for something for a special someone." He winked and then waved as he vanished behind a door behind the counter.

Naruto looked at the clock. Before he excited he asked a clerk where the fountain of Iwa was. Once told he promptly headed for it.

The blue-eyed boyarrived just before noon. Sakura had arrived before him.

After waiting until five after they both began to wonder where the others were. Sakura was still a slight bit angry with Naruto from the incident that morning but tried to act as if she wasn't. "Well, this is not like Neji or Shino to be late. Ino might arrive late every once in a while so it doesn't matter. If they don't come in 20 minutes we'll go back have lunch and then resume our searching for information."

Naruto smiled at her. "I don't think we'll have to search anymore Sakura."

"What?"

"Well, I found a lot of worthy information." The blonde grinned.

Sakura crossed her arms. "Well then, tell me." She was doubtful that the fool had gotten anything.

"There is a country about a four-day walk from the northern border of this country to a country called the Ice Country. There is a huge climate change in the distance in between here and there. The Ice Country was taken over by a ruthless dictator named Acharia a few months ago. She did this by force. She supposedly is interested in economic gain and made everyone work ridiculously long hours. The country has a lot of natural minerals and ore, but because it is mostly tundra it is hard to reach it. She basically enslaved a powerful katon using clan to reach these minerals faster. I learned a lot more unimportant information as well, but I'm sure I'll have to tell the old medic-kunoichi all of it."

Sakura's eyes were wide. "I'm surprised. All of that in one day? Wow Naruto. You outdid yourself." Her tone then turned annoyed with him. "But, I guess you've redeemed yourself for learning all we need to know in one day. Hmm, I'll just warn everyone that you can't be trusted when half-asleep." She laughed.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever…"

The pink haired girl got serious again. "Anyways, if they don't show up in an hour, we need to go back to Konoha and tell Tsunada-sama."

"What are we going to do for an hour?" The whiskered boy frowned.

"We can run and get some food and come back. If they do come while we are gone, which shouldn't be very long, then they will have waited for us. While we eat here we can discuss this so-called 'Ice Country' some more."

They found a small take-out restaurant in the courtyard where the fountain was. They had an eye on the fountain the whole time, hoping their teammates would show up. By the time they got back they still weren't there. After an hour of Naruto telling Sakura more details about the Ice Country they went back to their hotel room. They decided they should skim through Iwa before leaving and then head back to Konoha.

They took the quickest route to Konoha, which was a southeastern route. They made it inside Fire Country borders before nightfall. The two slept in a forest, beside a small creek. The next day they were in Konoha by noon.

Before they entered Tsunada's office they discussed how they should confront Tsunada. She would be angry with them for leaving them, but pleased with their information on the Ice Country.

Tsunada had her hands clasped in front of her chin. She spoke sternly. "Where are Neji, Shino, and Ino?"

Sakura summoned the courage to answer an honest answer. "Tsunada-sama, as your student you know I would not lie to you."

Tsunada coughed. She then laughed and smiled, trying to ease the tension.

Sakura continued, but with a less serious tone. "Well, Naruto did a great job in finding out the information that we needed but… When we met at the fountain, the others never showed up."

Tsunada thought for a moment. "That is not like them."

Naruto spoke. "In my honest opinion Tsunada-sama… If they had been at Iwa, they would have met us."

Tsunada closed her chocolate eyes. "Yes. I thought the same thing Naruto. Something happened to them."

Everyone's thoughts were interrupted as Shizune slammed the door open. She gasped for air as she spoke. "Tsunada… sama!"

"What is it Shizune?" Her eyes were wide.

Shizune had almost caught her breath. "We had the permission of the Rain Country and Waterfall Country to let out ninja walk through their lands… Well… A fisherman reported to the local Daimyou that he saw a small battle through his window. All the Daimyou's had been told about three leaf ninja that might be coming through their country… The Daimyou immediately told his local leader as he was informed to do if he heard about any abnormal activities!"

No one had gotten the point. Tsunada narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Shizune was shocked that no one understood, even though she hadn't really said anything coherently. "The battle the fisherman claimed to see included three leaf ninja and five ninja without forehead protectors!"

Sakura and Naruto gasped. Tsunada's eyes were full of anger. "What!" She stomped over to her desk, grabbed a pen and wrote something quickly. She handed it to Shizune.

Shizune was frightened by Tsunada's odd reaction. "What do you want me to do with this Tsunada-sama?"

The Sannin's reply was cold and harsh. Each word was punctuated. "I want you to tell that bastard Tsuchikage that we need to have a meeting."

Everyone was startled.

A day went by and the Konoha council had just received word from the Earth Country that the meeting was going to take place in three days at Iwa. It was obvious Tsunada was waiting for the moment she could pop Tsuchikage in the mouth, but Shizune would stop her.

It took two days for Tsunada, Shizune, a few council members, and a few ANBU to arrive at Iwa. Iwa had their ANBU guarding Tsuchikage as he sat peacefully with a grin on his face. He knew what his easily-to-enrage friend, Tsunada, was thinking.

Tsunada, accompanied by Shizune, council members, and her ANBU, walked hastily towards Tsuchikage's office. As she marched down the hallways she reached the door. She collected herself.

The door almost flew off its hinges. Shizune wanted to cry because of how much Tsunada was embarrassing Konoha.

Tsunada marched into the room and stomped angrily towards the small table in the middle of the room, which Tsuchikage was sitting cross-legged behind with an awkward look on his face. 'Tsunada-sama better not say anything rash.' Shizune pleaded inside her mind.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Tsunada threw a document at Tsuchikage, which landed in his lap. Still standing, and not having done any of the ceremonial bows done by Kage's when they greet, Tsunada continued to yell. "This is not a joke!"

Tsuchikage nodded his head in agreement. "I know. I know. This is not a joke." He said, humoring Tsunada, which made her even angrier. "I knew all along that you were sending your shinobi to Iwa."

Tsunada was fuming. "You did not have to go and attack my pupils!"

He responded, offended that she would say something like that. "What? You think…" He laughed. "… You think that I sent ninja to attack your Chuunin?"

Tsunada was about to snap. 'That bastard has the nerve to say that he didn't attack them!'

"Yes! I do believe that you sent your ninja to attack my shinobi. Your ninja supposedly sent two kunai into my female Chuunin's back!" When she said ninja, she said it sarcastically, as if to tease earth ninja.

Tsuchikage was annoyed. "I already read a copy of this. Let me tell you!" The man composed himself. "You, without my permission, sent five of your ninja into Earth territory and I didn't attack! You should be thanking me! Out of the kindness of my heart I let you do your business this time."

Tsunada was baffled. "Wait- I know you're not lying." The look on her face was pure confusion. "So, you didn't send ninja to counter-attack the kids I sent."

The earth Kage shook his head. "No. I did not send any ninja to attack you." He was about to say something else, but was cut off by Tsunada.

The chocolate-eyed woman sat down on the tatami mat. "So it must have been that country."

Tsuchikage held in a laugh successfully. "So you really didn't know anything about the Ice Country?"

She shook her head. "No. My council and I never even knew the name."

"If I tell you then all the information your two Chuunin collected would have been collected in vain." The earth man chuckled trying to hide the fact that he knew nothing about the Ice Country either.

Tsunada sighed. "Yes… and I know that they had gotten everything we needed."

The man looked at her, startled. "Really? If your ninja learned as much as I think you sent them here to learn then I need to be told their information as well."

"Why do you say that?"

Giving up his pride, the man confessed his own naivety of the country. "My advisors know nothing other than the location and name. The country never had asked for services in the past and they were really of no importance to us, so we never cared for information on the country. We were desperate so we had asked citizens if they knew about the country at one time, but no one came forward to answer."

Tsunada nodded to Shizune. Shizune, with pig in hand, handed Tsunada the report that Sakura had made. "I read this on the way here. It has everything you need to know about the country."

She smirked and bragged as she handed the papers to her new ally. "It's really quite interesting…" She looked at Tsuchikage. "…that my Chuunin gathered so much information on it…"

Tsuchikage ignored her, purposely, as he looked through the document.

"…in your village." Tsunada added as she laughed.

"This is very interesting. All of these things have been happening under every countries nose. A tyrannical leader has taken control, a clan was enslaved, and a countries cries for help were silenced."

Tsunada shook her head in agreement. "It really is depressing. The woman, Acharia, must have great manipulation skills to have been able to do all of this so…" Tsunada shuddered. "…so deceitfully."

"We should handle this with great caution. We should tell the other countries just so they can be informed. We should advise others not to take immediate action against the queen."

"It would be best if Acharia didn't know the rest of the world knew what was going on in her country."

Tsuchikage agreed. "But- Acharia already knows something. If I didn't attack then it had to have been Ice shinobi. We both know that the Waterfall Country wouldn't attack Leaf Shinobi."

"You're right. They must be advanced ninja if they could take down Hyuuga Neji. If they have killed my ninja or are keeping them hostage, I have to do something." Tsunada looked at Shizune and then back at Tsuchikage. "I think we have had a wonderful discussion. I look forward to our next meeting."

It seemed that the Tsuchikage and the Hokage were similar. They got along very well. When everyone completed the ceremonial farewells the Hokage and her escorts left for Konoha.

A day after their return to Konoha, Naruto, Sakura, and Lee were called to Tsunada's office. None knew what for, but all arrived at the scheduled time.

As the three shinobi were standing in a line in front of Tsunada's desk, she began to speak. "You three are here today to be informed of some things. The first thing I want to discuss is about you." She looked at Lee.

"Yes ma'am."

"You have completed the all of the required exams and trials to become a Jounin. I want to personally congratulate you on being an outstanding example of what a shinobi should be. Unfortunately the council and I cannot declare you a Jounin because of recent complications with one of your teammates and two other Konoha ninja. I have already informed Maito Gai, Sakura, and Naruto that Neji, Ino, and Shino were attacked and/or taken as prisoners by a recently unimportant country." She paused, allowing time for Lee to be take it all in. "Well, Naruto and Sakura can inform you about this new Country as you three head there on your next mission."

Shizune walked into the room and stood beside Tsunada's chair. "We are going on a diplomatic mission to the Ice Country to discuss the meaning of Queen Acharia's aggression towards our ninja. You three will be accompanying me."

The three nodded their heads. Naruto wasn't complaining like he normally would. He was excited about going to a previously unknown country.

Tsunada spoke as she looked out the large windows overlooking Konoha. "We do not have concrete evidence showing that it was Ice ninja who attacked Neji, Ino, and Shino yet, but it is the only lead we have. Shizune will be doing the talking with the queen. You three are to have no interaction with her other than eye contact." Tsunada stared at Naruto as she said that. "If anything goes wrong. And I mean absolutely anything- Lee is to escort Shizune back to Konoha. I know Lee is the most experienced as of now, but Sakura and Naruto were the ones to learn about the country and were the teammates of those three when they were attacked. If Lee does have to leave, Sakura and Naruto will stay behind until our ninja's situation is confirmed- dead or alive. Once you have found out whether they are alive or not, you are to come back to Konoha."

Naruto shook his head in confusion. "Wait. What are we going to do if they are still alive? Aren't we going to go back to rescue them from that hag? Achaia or whatever."

Tsunada looked at Naruto. "If you find out they are alive but captive, then you two are going to be replaced by higher ranking ninja to rescue them- that is, of course, if Shizune is unsuccessful in negotiating with Acharia to let them go. Anyways, she has no reason to want our ninja."

The three nodded their head in agreement again.

Shizune looked at Ton-Ton and then back to the kids. "Well, we'll be leaving in two days at daybreak. We have permission with the Earth Country this time so we don't have to take any awkward paths this time. We'll be able to get to Iwa before nightfall. Once at Iwa we will stay for a day for any last minute preparation. On the second day we will leave at midday. From that time onward anything could happen."

Tsunada dismissed everyone. Shizune would be able to inform them of anything else they might want to know when they are on their way to the Ice Country. Two days were ahead before the next chain of events would start.


End file.
